PAJARO - A 45-year-old woman was killed Sunday when a Union Pacific freight train struck the car she was riding in.

The woman's daughter, who was driving the white Honda Civic, suffered moderate injuries in the collision, which happened about 4 p.m. east of Allison Lane in Pajaro. The driver's three children, who were riding in the back seat, escaped with minor injuries, the California Highway Patrol said.

The train clipped the back of the car and spun it around, witnesses said. The driver had driven onto the crossing, noticed the train was coming and tried to reverse out of the way.

Witnesses said the family lived in a mobile home park near the crash site.